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(SBIR/Volpe, Department of Transportation)
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1 vote1 comment · U.S. DOT FY 2025 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A » 25-FT1: Exploring AI-based Predictive Maintenance for Public Transit Fleets · Admin →
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5 votes1 comment · U.S. DOT FY 2025 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A » 25-FT1: Exploring AI-based Predictive Maintenance for Public Transit Fleets · Admin →
An error occurred while saving the comment FTA doesn’t own and operate public transportation vehicles rather than providing financial assistance to transit agencies through formula and discretionary grants for the purchase of public transportation vehicles.
For the requested information, FTA's National Transit Database (NTD) could be a starting point. NTD was set up to be the repository of data about the financial, operating and asset conditions of American transit systems. Transit agencies report data on a number of key metrics including Vehicle Revenue Miles (VRM), Vehicle Revenue Hours (VRH), Passenger Miles Traveled (PMT), Unlinked Passenger Trips (UPT), and Operating Expenses (OE). However, this information might not be sufficient for the Potential offerors to conduct their research on this topic.
Potential offerors can reach out directly to any transit agency/ies if they need detailed data on the conditions of transit vehicle fleets.
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4 votes1 comment · U.S. DOT FY 2025 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A » 25-FT1: Exploring AI-based Predictive Maintenance for Public Transit Fleets · Admin →
An error occurred while saving the comment Public transportation vehicles are owned and operated by transit agencies and the government has no direct involvement in any specific integration tools for transit vehicles management and maintenance.
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2 votes1 comment · U.S. DOT FY 2025 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A » 25-FR1: Non-Destructive Longitudinal Rail Stress Measurement Device · Admin →
An error occurred while saving the comment Yes, using ultrasonics has been tried multiple times. The challenge has been to get a reliable measurement without knowing the “zero-stress-state” or RNT of the rail ahead of time for various types of rail and track constructions.
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2 votes1 comment · U.S. DOT FY 2025 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A » 25-FR1: Non-Destructive Longitudinal Rail Stress Measurement Device · Admin →
An error occurred while saving the comment We expect the researchers proposing on this topic to be familiar with:
1) typical rail sizes (115, 136, 141, etc) used in the US transportation network
2) typical rail neutral temperatures (stress-free temperatures) (RNT) of the rails in the network (maybe 80 to 110F)
3) atypical RNT values after winter rail adjustments (maybe 20F or lower is reasonable)
4) strength of rail, coefficient of thermal expansion, and when a track might buckle
5) maximum rail temperatures (maybe 140 F or more)With the information above, one can calculate several estimates of rail stress. In addition, we would like to measure the stress accurately enough to determine the RNT of a given rail to +/- 5 F at a given time.
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2 votes1 comment · U.S. DOT FY 2025 Phase I Pre-Solicitation Q&A » 25-FR1: Non-Destructive Longitudinal Rail Stress Measurement Device · Admin →
An error occurred while saving the comment You could work with a railroad or a rail manufacturer or plan a visit to the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, CO, where rails are available for testing. We don’t have a catalog of rails with specific amounts of residual stress, but we do have a couple of locations on track with known Rail Neutral Temperatures (RNT).
In this topic, please remember that we aim to measure longitudinal rail stress or RNT due to the rail being constrained on the track and changes in rail temperature. We are not interested in measuring residual stresses within the rail, although they can affect RNT measurements.
The topic is open to AI-based predictive maintenance solutions to any public transit vehicles regardless of the energy sources of buses.